


those will be the days that i'll be missing (when i'm old and when i'm grey)

by savemethewaltz



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Anne Shirley, F/F, F/M, diana and gilbert are cousins, everyone has an unrealistically good freshers week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21720427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savemethewaltz/pseuds/savemethewaltz
Summary: a wee modern university fic in which diana and gilbert are cousins because i think they could have been a lot closer and they are both the loveliest, anne and diana are roommates (oh my god), anne shirley is bi as hell, and lots of other good stuff!this is my first ever fic (!) so please please be kind and constructive, i'd really appreciate it!
Relationships: Diana Barry & Anne Shirley, Diana Barry & Gilbert Blythe, Gilbert Blythe & Winifred Rose, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Kudos: 28





	those will be the days that i'll be missing (when i'm old and when i'm grey)

Arriving at the student accommodation, Anne felt the familiar rush of butterflies threatening to overcome her. Even with Matthew and Marilla steady by her side, the situation reminded her too much of arriving at too many homes that held tension, fear and cruelty behind their doors. She would be sharing a room with a girl she'd not met yet, and it seemed insane to sleep beside her tonight, before any trust had developed between them. Diana Barry had friend requested her on Facebook within a few minutes once they were sent an email with their room allocations, and Anne had spent the next half an hour (or maybe the next two hours) scrolling her Facebook page, and then her Instagram. 

Diana was a familiar type of girl, there had certainly been plenty in Avonlea, pretty, popular, Instagram pictures obviously carefully curated with a string of compliments and heart emojis following each post. Anne couldn't help but notice consistent pictures with a handsome guy, dark haired and sparkly eyed. In each picture together, he and Diana were laughing, his arm around her shoulder or carrying her on his back. One of the biggest worries for Anne was coming out to girls like this, who had clearly been in relationships since they were 14 and probably never considered anything beyond heterosexuality and a white picket fence. Worse, they were sharing a room, probably getting changed at the same time and the thought of her new roommate being disgusted by her made Anne's gut twist. She certainly had experiences of being pushed aside by girls when they found out she was bi and assumed the whole friendship was built on some predatory bullshit that couldn't be further from the truth. For a start, straight girls weren't her type. 

Then, in the last year of high school, when she was just about giving up on the whole concept of people her age, she met Cole, and through nights of tears, they slowly came out to each other and found their safe place. Being friends with Cole gave her the confidence to come out to Matthew and Marilla, and she was met with only the sweetest love and support. Sure, Marilla making sure to tell her about every gay person that she saw on TV or read about in the newspaper was a little embarrassing, but mostly it filled Anne with a warm glow. Thank God Cole had come along to Toronto too, albeit in the art school on the other side of the city. Their first coffee date was already planned for the next morning.

Anne was interrupted from her thoughts by Marilla calling her to help carry her suitcases from the car. Other students were pulling up and unpacking all around her, and the air felt charged and new under the cold September sun. The door to her building, Victoria Hall, was held open by a small girl who grinned at Anne. After Anne had dragged in her largest suitcase, she set it down and turned to the girl, sticking out her hand and talking in a rush:

'Hey, I'm Anne, I'm staying in room A24. Do you live here too? Are you also a first year?' The girl grinned, shaking Anne's hand: 'We're basically neighbours! I'm in A21! I'm Ruby Gillis, and I'm a first year too. Isn't this all so exciting?!' 

Wow, Anne thought, a potential kindred spirit already. She knew her worries about this new life had been unfounded. 

'Absolutely! I can't wait to start classes, I'm studying English.' 'I'm doing History as my major, but I'm taking a module of English this term, so I'll see you there!' It was Anne's turn to grin, turning to Matthew and Marilla who were waiting in the doorway, observing her with soft smiles. 'And be sure to come by my room whenever you feel like it,' said Ruby, 'A21, remember!' 

With that she reached over and quickly hugged Anne, went back to holding open the door and, after Matthew and Marilla had dragged their boxes inside, skipped outside with a quick wave to Anne that she happily returned.

'Now, let's see', Marilla hummed, looking up at the signs pointing out the rooms on the floor, 'Ah, A24, this way'. Leading the way, with Anne on her heels and Matthew trailing behind, Marilla strode off down the hall towards Anne's new room, and her new life.

Anne had been slowly unpacking for the last hour, fielding Marilla’s questions about everything she had to do in the next week, when the door burst open and her new roommate arrived. Dancing across the room towards Anne, Diana Barry hugged her and came away with the brightest smile Anne had ever seen up close. 

‘You must be Anne! It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, I’m Diana Barry. I’m sorry my side of the room is a bit messy, I kind of threw all my stuff in here when I arrived. How was your journey?’ Anne, unusually overcome, shook herself slightly before replying. ‘Uh, yes, it’s lovely to meet you too! The journey was okay, very long but worth it for what’s on the other side.’ Diana placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it, ‘Wow, yes, from Prince Edward Island, right? You all must be exhausted!’ 

Turning to Matthew and Marilla, Diana smiled and held out her hand: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, I assume you’re Anne’s parents?’ Marilla, blushing slightly shook Diana’s hand. ‘Yes, indeed. Anne tells us you grew up in the city, it seems rather too big for my liking. I wonder if I could ask that you take Anne under your wing somewhat, show her around?’ Anne was by now blushing furiously, irritated that Marilla had revealed knowledge discovered by her stalking efforts and tried to say as much with her eyes. 

Diana only smiled winningly. ‘Yes, I’ve grown up near here and I can assure you it’s the most wonderful city, I would be happy to show Anne around.’ At Marilla’s clearly relived smile, Anne couldn’t help but let her irritation dissipate. She knew how worried Marilla could be, and to be fair her appetite for adventure had definitely got her in a few scrapes the last few years in Avonlea. Anne’s growing good mood was certainly assisted by Diana, who perhaps she had misjudged.

A few hours later Anne trudged along the hallway to her new room, heavy with sadness from saying farewell to her parents. The tears at the edge of Matthews eyes as she stood by the window of the car had almost broken Anne, and she had to force on a smile and give them both one last kiss, before waving until they disappeared. Entering her new room, she saw Diana reaching to hang up photos above her bed. 

The room certainly wasn’t big, but it was bright, with two large windows about the desk that separated their two beds. At the end of their beds were sinks, and a wardrobe for each of them. Diana had laid out a plush pink carpet between their beds and put up some fairy lights above the windows. Turning to her, Diana smiled. 

‘Hey, roomie, any chance you could help me with some of these photos? I’d like to cover the whole wall, but I can’t reach the top, and it looks like you’d be able to.’ ‘Oh, yeah, for sure!’ Slipping off her shoes and climbing onto Diana’s bed, Anne looked more closely at the photos that were already hanging. Embarrassingly she recognised some of the photos from Diana’s Instagram. ‘These are so lovely,’ Anne said, honestly. The photos were full of the energy and joy that Anne was now beginning to realise were an accurate depiction of Diana. 

‘Oh, thank you,’ Diana grinned, ‘These are my parents’. She pointed to a photo of a couple in their early twenties, clearly taken at some party. ‘The photo is from the early nineties, when they were at uni. So, the love of my life better be waiting around the next corner!’ Diana laughed and Anne joined her, even while wondering what had happened to the boyfriend all over Diana’s Instagram. Maybe they had just broken up. It was a tough time for couples, just starting uni. 

As she thought of that and felt a twinge for the pain it must have caused Diana, who Anne already felt a growing affection for, Anne noticed pictures with the maybe-boyfriend, already hung up on the wall. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she pointed to one. ‘Isn’t that your boyfriend? I, uh, saw him on your Instagram.’ 

Diana laughed. ‘Gilbert? Hah, absolutely not. Gilbert is my cousin, and probably my best friend in the world, though don’t tell him that!’ Anne smiled, some part of her a little relieved and a little...excited? Where those feelings came from, she had no idea, but decided against examining them further. ‘He actually goes here too, he’s two years above us and studying medicine, which he’s boringly in love with, but he somehow still finds time to do like 12 other extra curriculars. You’ll be meeting him soon enough; he lives in Victoria too.’ 

Anne was surprised: ‘I thought Victoria Hall was just for first years, how come he lives here?’ ‘Oh, he’s like the Hall coordinator, he looks after all of us and then gets his accommodation for free. No idea who thought it was a good idea for him to look after first-years, given he can barely look after himself.’ Diana smiled, with more than a hint of tenderness in her voice. 

She handed a set of photos to Anne, ‘Right, Miss Supermodel, please put these ones up at the top.’ ‘I’m not sure I’m supermodel tall, I think you’re just at a strange angle all the way down there.’ ‘Oh, damn, the burn,’ said Diana, laughing. Anne joined in, feeling the warm glow returning to her chest.

**Author's Note:**

> i very clearly know next to nothing about canadian univeristy, i'm basing this on my own experiences on the other side of the atlantic mixed with a sprinkle of australian and american knowledge! this is a very romanticised version of the university experience, especially freshers week, which can be really tough. but (at least for me) it's only been up from there, so this is a little love letter to the great friends and great experiences i've had at uni! go to uni! especially if you're from scotland and it's free! if not i respect the decision not to go, do what makes you happy and i will support you! :D 
> 
> as i said, if you have any hot tips and tricks for how i can improve my writing or any ideas please let me know <3


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